A Wanderer's Acceptance
by VectorCrocodileFangirl
Summary: /f!Lone Wanderer x Gob/ He suspects that she's just using him to get to Moriarty's secrets, and he's strangely okay with that.


Gob spends all day watching the door to Moriarty's Saloon swinging open and closed, open and closed, avoiding eye contact with the people coming in and quietly taking their orders so he doesn't get struck by Moriarty himself. It's sort of calming, the sight of the door swinging open and closed, the learned hand motions of pouring drinks and handing them out without looking too hard. It makes it easy for him to slip into a trance and forget where he is for a while.

That is, until she drags herself through the door.

Gob listens to the chatter of the patrons sometimes and he's heard tale of a wanderer who's come to Megaton from the nearby Vault, the first person to exit the place in more years than most people can remember. He'd also heard that she was a young woman, clad in stolen Raider armor and a hockey mask and carrying an absurd amount of weaponry, running around and doing good and bad deeds alike. He even hears she disabled the atom bomb lying in the middle of town. But he'd never expected to see her up close.

Especially not _this_ close.

The wanderer comes right up to him, looking as intimidating as he thinks anyone _can_ be in her hockey mask and Raider armor. He would have thought she _was_ a Raider if he didn't know any better. From behind the mask he can see that one side of her head has unruly but thick red hair; the other side has two small tufts sticking out from under the strap of the mask. Other than that, her defining features are hidden.

What's most interesting to him, though, is the way she walks right up to him. No fear. No hesitation. He wishes he could see her face behind her mask to judge any other assumptions she might have of him, but he casts his gaze downwards as a precaution.

"What can I do for ya', smoothskin? Want a drink?" he asks, trying to look like he's preoccupied with cleaning a glass. Not that cleaning anything ever helps, with how dirty the water and cloths are.

"Well what 'ave you got, fella?" she asks. There's a bit of an accent to her voice, maybe Scot, maybe Brit. Hell, in the radioactive melting pot that their society's become, maybe it's both. What he really cares about, though, is her inflections. She doesn't sound frightened or condescending in the least. She's not disgusted or angry at him.

"What? You're not going to hit me? Yell at me? Even berate me a little bit?" he says, disbelief strong in his voice. She leans in, laces her fingers.

"Wasn't plannin' on it. If you're into that, though.." There's a smile in her voice. He just blinks at her, sure she's going to go 'just kidding, now get back to work you filthy walking corpse' on him any second now. She doesn't.

"Ah- no thanks," he says, setting down the glass he's been absentmindedly "cleaning" for the past few lines of conversation. "..you know, you're okay, smoothskin. I'm used to everyone in this town giving me shit 'cause I look like a corpse."

"I don't like to judge a book by its cover," she replies. "The only people I don't like are the ones who fuck with me, in any way. I get the impression you know better than that." He just nods dumbfoundedly. "Hey, you see a middle aged man pass through here lately? Grey hair, beard- came from the Vault. Well-spoken. He's my dad and I'm lookin' for him." He thinks back, wondering if he's seen anyone fitting that description.

"Yeah, I think I saw a guy like that," he replies. "You'd better ask Moriarty about it, though. He knows a hell of a lot more than me."

The masked wanderer leans back from the counter and tilts her head at him.

"Thanks, buddy," she says. "What's yer name?"

He's never had someone ask his name before, but he clears his throat and answers. "Uh. Gob. Just Gob." he replies. "And- don't tell Moriarty about this 'cause he'd have my head, but I'll let you have a discount on stuff here at the bar. For bein' so nice to me." He swallows heavily as she stands up.

"Thanks, Gob," she repeats, and it sounds good to hear someone use his name without contempt, even if it's not an enjoyable name to begin with. "I might be back later to talk some more- I'll assume you don't go many places?" He shrugs.

"Not really. Come back any time, smoothskin."

And without any additional fanfare, she disappears out of Moriarty's Saloon, leaving behind a very confused ghoul.

* * *

"Hey, if it ain't my favorite smoothskin in this dump! I'm glad you're here, Moriarty's been especially nasty lately and I needed a friendly face." He waves the wanderer over from where she's standing in the doorway, and she walks over willingly. Jericho, sitting at the other side of the bar, scowls at Gob.

"Where do you get off talking to a normal person like that, you little freak?" he growls. Gob just bows his head; there are some people he's willing to piss off, but Jericho isn't one of them.

"Can it, ya ass," his friend growls. She's definitely a Scot. Or was it Irish? He always gets the two mixed up. Doesn't really matter. "Gob was talkin' to me as a friend and I don't remember either of us inviting _you_ into the conversation."

The ex-Raider positively _glowers_ at the lone wanderer, but she just crosses her arms and stare him down through her hocky mask with the utmost confidence. Gob winces when it looks like he's going to reach for his gun, but instead he just gets up and walks out. He hopes the fact that he didn't pay for his drink isn't going to come out of his "pay", realizes it probably will, and then has his fears allayed when the girl drops some caps onto the table beside his half-empty glass.

"Thanks for that," he says with relief. She shrugs. "Takes balls of steel to stand up to Jericho on his home turf.. 'specially for someone like me. I'm not exactly popular around here."

"So I noticed," she says as she sits down in front of him. "I guess it's lucky for you that I hate people like him and _like_ people like _you_. And that I don't give a shit about what the rest of this little dumpy settlement thinks of me."

He tries not to read too far into that, really he does, and doesn't really succeed for a moment before realizing that he's probably the first friendly person she's run into outside of the Vault who isn't completely psycho or just want something from her. Vault dwellers are definitely a couple dozen steps up the social ladder from ghouls, but not regarded well by the wastelanders anyway. That's probably the reason for her commentary.

"You got anything strong?" He pours her a scotch and watches her throw it back, so he pours her a second. "You know, this is the second time I've come in here and I've only ever seen _you_ at the counter. What's Moriarty been up to anway?" He shrugs.

"He's probably in the storeroom. I'm not supposed to go back there, especially when he's there, so." He gestures behind him to the door into the back room. She nods and leans her elbow on the counter, propping her head up with it.

"Well.. don't tell him I came by, okay? I'd rather get his first impression of me firsthand."

If anything he's ever heard sounds like it has ulterior motives, it's that one statement. He chooses to ignore it; she's been nice enough to him that he can let her get away with it.

* * *

After that second encounter, his friend disappers for a few days. He hopes nothing bad happened to her, but in the wasteland, it's hard to get your hopes up about that sort of thing. Luckily, though, she reappears after only three days of being gone. With one noticeable difference; her mask is gone.

It's the first time he's seen her face, and he's a little flabberghasted at first as she walks up to him. He would say that he almost didn't recognize her, except it's hard _not_ to recognize her, even with the mask gone. Her left eye is starting to turn blue, probably from a fight, and her hair is even more of a mess than usual.

"Hey, Gob," she says, as brightly as ever. She saunters over to him, certainly not lacking in confidence for whatever happened to her, and her smile is bright and toothy. It feels good to have someone smiling _at_ him, genuinely. "How's my favorite bartender doin'?"

"Good enough. Where've you been? You're gonna break my fragile little heart if you disappear like that for too long." He hands her a glass of scotch, which she gladly throws back.

"I was chasing a group of Raiders out of their nest," she replies, sitting in her usual stool. She cracks her neck and winces. "Hey, you got any stims back there? It's been a loooong couple of days."

He knows Moriarty keeps a few stimpaks around in case of emergency and to sell to the wayward traveller, so he searches around behind the bar until he finds one. He hands it to the wanderer and she moves to pull out some caps, but he puts up his hand.

"On the house, kid," he says. "Just don't tell Moriarty or he might have my head. Literally."

She smiles at him again. "Thanks, Gob," she says as she injects herself with the stimpak. She sighs contentedly as the drug flows through her, then discards the empty syringe and gauge. "And trust me, if it were up to me, I'd never talk to Moriarty in my life." This time he smiles at her.

"Yeah, well, I think most people here'd agree with you." he replies. She peers around him.

"Is he back there?" she asks. He turns around to look at the door to the back room and shrugs.

"Dunno. Maybe. He's been pouring over that terminal of his like crazy lately." he replies. She cocks a curious eyebrow and he realizes what he just said, but it's too late to take it back. She laces her fingers like she's prone to doing and smiles at him.

"He's got a terminal? Man, color me jealous." she grins. "Does he keep anything important on it?"

He purses his lips. So that's what her friendly attitude has been about all this time; she's been using him to get information on Moriarty. He wants to be saddened by that but really, he's just glad to have someone being friendly to him regardless of the reason. He picks up a discarded glass and starts cleaning.

"Sorry, kiddo, if I tell you anymore Moriarty will have my head." With his newfound revelation he expects her to just get up and walk off, but she just smiles at him and leans back in her stool.

"I understand, Gob." she says. "How about pouring me another scotch, then?"

He smiles at her and does so.

* * *

The next day she comes back, looking less injured and bedraggled and carrying her hockey mask. He waves her over when she walks in and she moves right up to him, smiling brilliantly.

"I was wondering where that thing disappeared to," he says, nodding at her hockey mask. She tilts her head and gives him a little grin. "You gonna put it back on?" She sits at the bar and shrugs, putting it on the counter in front of her.

"It got pretty beat up while I was gone, so I had Moira fixing it up for me," she explains. "And.. I dunno. I like it. Less people recognize me as 'that vault dweller' when I wear it, you know?" He leans across the counter and looks her directly in the eye; it feels nice to be able to do so without any fear of getting hit for it.

"You should keep it off," he says. "At least while you're here, I know it probably helps while you're out in the wasteland. But you shouldn't hide a pretty face like that behind a mask." He casts his glance between her face and the mask, waiting for her reaction. Her expression falls to surprise, then confusion and finally she smiles. He's not quite sure what to do with that, so he does the only thing he _does_ know how to do; bartend. "You, uh. Want a drink?"

"Maybe just a glass," she replies, with her hands laced under her chin as she leans forwards and gives him a cheeky grin. "so I can enjoy _this_ tall drink of water." She reaches up and pats him on the cheek, and he twitches nervously. "You're quite the flatterer, you know that?'

He mumbles a response where even _he's_ not entirely sure of what he said, and goes back to cleaning and polishing. After a moment he comes back with, "..well, you're the only smoothskin woman who's even been nice to me, and, uh. You have.. nice eyes. Really bright." He starts to lose cohesion as he realizes that he's _flirting_ with her, terrified that she's going to suddenly come to her senses and get mad at him, but she just laughs good-heartedly and puts a hand to his face again, this time running her thumb over the defined ridge of his cheekbone.

"_Well_. Consider me seduced, you stud," she laughs, and it's a beautiful sound. "You're the kind of guy every girl wants to take home to mum and dad. You know, the ones who have those."

_Except for the rotting flesh,_ he wants to point out, but he chooses not to; he can hardly afford to say anything that might tick her off. After all, it's not every day, or hell, even _any_ day that he has a beautiful woman putting her hand to his face. They're quiet; she looks at him with soft eyes, offset by the remnants of the black eye and the harsh scars from healed scratches and bullet grazes and her rather intense haircut. Her lips part a little, something between a neutral look and a gentle smile.

"Hey, I don't pay you to stand around and gawk at the customers," A thick Irish voice scolds from behind him, and the two snap to attention, Gob stepping back from the counter while the wanderer sits up. "So to speak." Colin Moriarty looks harshly at the wanderer, his expression softening after a moment. He then turns to glare at the ghoul. "Why're ya buggin' this nice girl?" he asks gruffly. The wanderer intervenes before things can get too intense.

"Actually," she pipes up. "_I_ was probably bothering _him_. I enjoy his conversational skills. I didn't realize it was probably keeping him from doing his job." Moriarty doesn't seem too pleased with her interjection, but even _he_ knows better than to mouth off at a tough-looking girl with an assault rifle strapped to her back. Eventually he wanders off into the back room, and Gob turns to his friend and smiles.

"Bitching at Jericho, turning Moriarty away.. you're a regular super woman." he says with a low whistle. She smiles back at him.

"I try," she says. Her eyes travel to the back door. "He's back there a lot, huh?" Gob nods.

"Like I said, always pouring over that terminal." he confirms. Her eyes narrow.

"That thing must have some pretty important stuff," she says, almost sounding like she's talking to herself. "It probably has something in it about my father." She doesn't say it, but he can practically _hear_ her saying 'I need to get into that terminal'. He inhales sharply and looks around to make sure no one is listening to closely to their conversation.

"Look," he says. "You've been real nice to me, so I'll tell you some secrets, but if the geezer finds out I'm a dead ghoul, you got me?" Her eyes widen in attention and she looks at him, nodding vigorously. "Moriarty's terminal has information on it about everyone in town, and the visitors. It probably says something about your dad, but Moriarty's real careful- it'll be heavily encrypted. You're smart, so you might be able to crack it.. but just in case, you see that woman over there?" He nods towards the redhead hanging around the toilets, and the wanderer nods. "Her name's Nova. She's, er- the local entertainment. I've heard she has the password for the terminal. I don't know any more than that, so go chat her up if that's what you're looking for, sweets."

She leans across the counter, kisses him on the cheek and doesn't seem to be repulsed by the inevitable metallic taste she receives. In fact, she leans back and licks her lips.

"Thanks, hon," she responds, returning his affectionate nickname. He watches as she gets out of her seat and walk over to Nova; from here he can't hear their conversation, but he sees his friend (or something else?) enter something into the little computer on her arm before walking off and out of the bar. He watches the sway of her hips as she leaves; she's not built like Nova, certainly, but her wide hips and tiny shoulders leave enough to look at. He's snapped out of it only by the closing of the door behind her and Nova simultaneously shoving a hand into his face and snapping at him.

"Earth to Gooob," she says, sounding cross. He looks at her, narrowing her eyes; she's the only other person he feels he can stand up to without repurcussions, and generally the worst that happens is a few harsh words, not a beating like he's used to. "D'you tell the vault girl that I had Moriarty's password?" She hisses so as to not be heard and he leans towards her.

"So what if I did?" he asks in response. She leans across the counter and gives him a harsh look, knuckles white with how hard she's gripping the edge.

"She's just using you, you know that, right?" she says. Gob glowers at her even more. "Oh, don't give me that look. I've been watching you. She's a smart girl; she knows how to get what she wants, and what she wants is whatever Moriarty has that she's interested in. She's just using you to get to him."

"So what?" he repeats, turning away from her and going back to polishing the glassware. She looks at him, flabberghasted.

"Whaddya mean, 'so what'?" she says. He turns back towards her.

"I _meant_, 'so what'? I don't care if she's just using me. She's the only person who's ever _really_ been nice to me. I don't care if she's just doing it for selfish reasons." he replies. He's not sure he believes it himself, but he's not sure he can stand the idea of things going back to the way they were. Nova leans back and crosses her arms.

"What about me? I've treated you well over the years. _I've_ been nice to you." she points out. He scoffs and waves a dismissing hand.

"You call that 'nice'? You call giving me an occasional hello while laughing at the insulting jokes people make about me and watching as Moriarty beats me without doing anything 'nice'? Fuck off." he growls. She stands rod straight, arms down at her sides, fists clenched.

"_Fine_, you rotten piece of shit," she grumbles. "See what I care when she dumps you like yesterday's nuclear waste."

He waves at her without looking back as she storms off. He doesn't know what he'll do if she's right. He just hopes she isn't.

* * *

After a few days of not seeing his friend from the vault, Gob starts to lose hope. He sees the way Nova watches him smugly from her table, this vicious little 'you know I was right' smile on her lips, and it simultaneously makes him want to punch her and crawl to her asking for forgiveness, saying she's right.

He's rooting under the counter for another bottle of vodka when he stands up and bumps his head against something soft, nearly causing him to fall over. He curses, rights himself and looks up, greeted by the sight of a small, soft female torso leaning over the side of the counter. The Raider armor, tiny shoulders and pert little breasts are a familiar sight.

"I'm baaaack!" she greets as he stands up, looking at her in shock and happiness. "I'm sorry I disappeared like that, but once I got the data from Moriarty's terminal I didn't want to risk getting caught so I hid out for a little while. I'm back now though, for a few days at least." Her bright, even teeth gleam at him and he looks at her with a pitifully happy expression, looking like an abused puppy who was just reunited with his kind master.

"Did you find what you were looking for, kiddo?" he asks as he pours her a scotch, already knowing what she's going to ask for. Immediately, excitement overtakes her features.

"Yeah! He sent my dad to Galaxy News Radio. I'm going to spend a few days here, getting ready to leave- you know, stocking up on rations and ammo, getting rested up, doing some little helpful things around town to see if anyone wants to give me stuff for helping out. You know." He nods as she throws back her drink.

"So.. how long are you gonna be gone?" he asks. Her bright disposition suddenly falls and she stares into her empty glass.

"I dunno," she replies. "Could be a while. I don't know how far ahead of me my dad is, or when he'll slow down enough for me to catch up to him.. and I don't know what I'll find out there. I mean, I've dealt with slavers and raiders and super-mutants, but I hear there can be a lot worse out there." After a few moments of melancholy gazing, she turns around nervously, then turns back to Gob. "Is that Nova woman staring at me? I can feel her eyes on the back of my neck." He reaches out and puts a hand to his friend's face; she leans into it.

"She's just surprised to see you back, that's all," he replies, looking up to glare at Nova when the wanderer closes her eyes for a few moments. "She thought that once you had Moriarty's information on your dad, you were going to split town."

She opens her eyes again, gently moving Gob's hand from her face. She reaches up and plays with a little wisp of his scarce hair. "Now why would I do that, silly?" she asks. "I like it here. It's a little dismal but hey, I like the company." She drops her hand, runs a finger around the rim of her glass and looks back down at it, sighing. "Well, I just wanted to drop in and let you know I'm alive. I've got some running around to do, you know how it is. But, uh.. maybe I'll see you later?" She looks back over her shoulder, makes sure Nova isn't watching; she seems to be distracted by conversation with one of the settlers, maybe a potential customer. The wanderer pulls out a piece of scrap paper and a pencil, two things he doesn't see much of, and scribbles something on it quickly. She sets it under the caps for her payment and gives him a little wave as she slips out of the bar. While Nova is still distracted, he dumps the caps into the till and picks up the note.

_Meet me at my house above the Brass Lantern after work._ He swallows heavily at the implications of that note, trying very hard not to think about it. After all, it could be something completely innocent.. something she just doesn't want Nova to hear. But she kissed him on the cheek, she let him touch her in an affectionate way.. all signs point to yes. He's not sure he's ready for that.

Ghouls aren't exactly seen as viable partners by most smoothskins- first of all, the prejudice between the two groups doesn't exactly make for a sunny, smooth relationship. Second of all, the massive amount of radiation that turns a ghoul _into_ a ghoul renders them all sterile, which, in a world where healthy children are an asset, makes them less than ideal. Aside from those two major points, ghouls are ugly- they _know_ they are. Most of them don't care, but they know. He can't understand _why_ his wandering friend would be interested in him. If she is, though, he's not going to complain. _He's_ interested in _her_, that's undeniable.

He tucks the note in his pocket for safekeeping and goes back to his work, ignoring the way Nova watches him like a hawk. He won't let her interfere, not with this.

* * *

"Ah, salutations! I was told to expect a visit from a ghoul by the name of 'Gob'. I would presume that is you, sir?"

He doesn't quite know what to think about the robotic butler that greets him, so he just shifts on his feet and nods. The robot chirps happily.

"Very good! I shall fetch the young madame for you. Oh madaaaame!" He floats off into the little house until the wandering girl practically stumbles down the stairs. She laughs nervously when she sees him.

"Hi, Gob, I'm glad you came," she says, straightening out the hair on her grown out side. She turns to the robot butler and waves him off. "Wadsworth, please go into sleep mode, I won't be needing your services right now."

"Are you certain, madame?" he asks. She turns to him and gives him a harsh look.

"Yes, Wadsworth, I'm certain. I'd like some privacy. I promise to wake you if I need you." The robot laughs heartily, floating towards the stairs.

"Very well, madame. I shall be in sleep mode in the shack if you need me." A door closes somewhere upstairs, and Gob takes a deep breath. Before now, he'd thought there was a chance this was an innocent visit.. there's nothing innocent about _that_.

She turns to him and gives him a bright, nervous smile. "Uh, hi. I'm glad you came. I, um, said that already, didn't I?" She bites her lower hip and Gob stuffs his hands into his pockets to give them something to do. She sighs deeply. "Ah, do you want something to drink? I've got purified water in the fridge.."

Just as nervously as her, he scratches his ear against his shoulder. "Yeah, sure, thanks." he replies. She dashes into the room behind them and comes back a second later with two bottles of water. He smiles at her as she ushers him towards a pair of chairs in the middle of the room. As they sit down, she laces her fingers in her lap and leans towards him. He scratches the back of his head and clears his throat nervously. "So, uh.. why'd you want me to come over?" he asks. The question makes her flush and he's not sure whether it was a good idea for him to ask, but soon enough she looks up at him and smiles.

"I just wanted a chance to talk to you without nosy people listening in or watching," she replies. "You're just about my only real friend in this place and everywhere else I've gone has tried to kill me. So, uh, you're my only friend.. _anywhere,_ I guess. And I'm going off to do something that might be _really_ dangerous. I might not come back. So.. I was hoping to get to spend some time with you."

He clears his throat and she scoots her chair in closer. "You, uh.. a ghoul-hugger?" He's heard of them before, smoothskins with a particular affinity for ghouls, but he'd never had any luck in _meeting_ one.

"I know there's _one_ ghoul I'd like to hug," she says quietly. "Does that count?" She reaches forwards and takes him by the hand, and he swallows heavily. He hasn't been intimate with a woman since he left Underworld- has never been intimate with a smoothskin woman.

"Look, kid-"

"Lil." she says, cutting him off.

"What was that?" he asks.

"My name. It's Lil. Short for Lillian, but no one but my dad's ever called me that," she replies. "You're the first person outside the vault who knows my name." He nods, squeezing her hand.

"Lil, then," he says. His voice is on the verge of cracking. "You could get just about any guy in Megaton- Hell, probably just about anywhere. You kick a lot of ass, you look good _and_ you're a _lot_ nicer than about ninety percent of the people running around this crazy world, and about a hundred times saner than the other ten percent. Why me, some random ghoul you met in some sleazy bar?" he asks. She squeezes his hand which he only now realizes she's still holding.

"Everyone in the vault was pretty," she sighs. "but they were all shallow and hateful people. Even my only 'friend' was a bitch. I've stopped caring about appearances-" Her eyes went wide. "No offence." Gob laughs.

"It's fine, I know I'm ugly. That's why I was confused."

She reaches up and puts a hand to his face, much like she did in the bar. "Well, you're not _pretty_," she replies. "But, I don't know. I find your looks very appealing in an unconventional way." She turns his head with her hand to look at her, and he melts a little. He notices, for the first time, what a piercing color of green her eyes are.

"So.. whadd'you-" He's cut off by her reaching across his face with her thumb and putting it to his lips. She leans forwards, on the edge of her chair, and kisses him. He's about to put a hand to her face to participate more thoroughly, but she makes a little squeaking noise and falls forward as her chair tips over, making her fall on top of him and sending them both to the floor, her lying on top of him. She just smiles at him and kisses him again, cupping his face in both of her hands. Forgotten motions return to him as he remembers frantic nights spent with ghoul girls in the belly of Underworld. None of them were like this, though- he can feel Lil's smooth skin under his hands as he puts his hands on her waist. "So, are we just gonna do this here?" he laughs as she pulls away. She sits up and smiles down at him, her hands pressing into his chest. Then she gets up, pulling him up with her and flush up against her.

"Let me show you to the bedroom then, Gob." She laughs as she pulls him towards the stairs; it's a beautiful sound. His breath is caught in his throat as he considers what is about to happen; he feels sick and hopeful at the same time, not entirely sure he's prepared but knowing it's what he wants, even if it's just this once.

* * *

"Hey," Gob stirs from his sleep with a few gentle whispers in his ear; his eyes flutter open and he looks up into two big, green orbs and a mop of messy red hair looking down at him. "It's still really early so you should go back to sleep, but I just wanted you to know I was leaving- I've got some stuff to take care of, but I'll probably see you later. I'm leaving Wadsworth with instructions to let you in if you come by, so feel free to, okay?"

"Uh- kay," he says sleepily. Lil leans down and kisses him, then climbs her way out of bed and pulls her armor on. He watches through tired eyes as she prepares to leave. "See you." he murmurs. She turns back and blows him a kiss.

"See you, hon." she replies quietly, and then she's gone. He sighs, rolls over and goes back to sleep; it's not the most comfortable bed, but anything is better than his bed at Moriarty's.

When he wakes up a few hours later, he realizes he's quite late to work and that he's probably going to get his ass kicked for it. He pulls himself out of bed, throws on his clothes and rushes out the door, barely even acknowledging Wadsworth's little 'have a good day, sir'. He runs to the pub, hopping rails where he can do so without hurting himself, and finally arrives to a completely empty bar. The only person there is Nova, standing behind the counter and staring down at it. When she hears the door, she looks up at him and positively glares. She walks out from behind the counter, fists clenched.

"Where'd _you_ disappear to last night? I _thought_ it was weird you weren't here when Simms came by this morning." She crosses her arms and stares him down, and he just stands straight and stares back.

"I was at L- the vault girl's house," he replies. "Like you had any _doubt_ that's where I was." She sighs heavily and turns around, leaning on the counter.

"That's what I was afraid of," she moans. It's his turn to cross his arms as he waits for her explanation. She turns back around and gives him a much more sympathetic look. "Moriarty was killed some time this morning. Simms chased your friend out of town." she admits.

Gob freezes, dread flooding into him. "Oh no," he groans, collapsing into one of the chairs. "Oh, _shit_." Nova takes a step towards him, her arms folded over each other.

"What is it?" she asks. He sighs deeply.

"Last night, I.. might've told her some less than impressive stuff about Moriarty. I didn't want her to do _this_, but I can see where she'd get the idea." He thinks back to what had happened the night before.

_He sighs deeply, entire body sagging into the bed as Lil settles on top of him, soft body pressed into his ragged one. She nuzzles in under his chin and sighs as well._

_"..wow." It's all he can think to say, and it makes her laugh again. He likes the sound even more now, with her pressed on top of him._

_"Enjoyed it, I presume?" she says, fingers tracing the darker patches of flesh against his greenish ones. He doesn't reply, just gently pulls a hand through her hair. Part of him feels the strong pull of sleep, but part of him still feels adrenaline pumping through his body from their long encounter. She bites her lip and looks up at him with her eyes bright but tired._

_"Why do you _stay_ with Moriarty, anyway?" she asks, looking sad. He rubs the back of her neck._

_"He bought me," he replies. "I was captured by slavers when I left Underworld. I still have to pay back my debt- I've been working for 'im for fifteen years trying to pay it back, but with how much he paid for me and how little a bartender makes, it's a slow process." She looks even sadder than before, if it's at all possible._

_"Ohh, that's so sad," she says. He shrugs. "You've been trying to pay back your debt almost as long as I've been alive."_

_"Yeah, well, it's not all bad- wait, how old are you?" he asks. He's not particularly worried about it, but part of him is startled by the claim nonetheless. She looks at least Nova's age, but that clearly isn't the case._

_"I turned nineteen a couple of weeks before I had to run from the vault," she says. "But that's not important." He nods in agreement._

_"Like I was saying, it's not all bad- at least I've got a roof over my head and a warm meal every day, unlike most ghouls in the wastelands. I just wish Moriarty didn't hit me whenever I did something wrong." He sighs and shakes his head; Lil starts to look angry._

_"That's horrible," she mutters. "It's already bad enough that people treat ghouls badly because of the way they _look_, but for Moriarty to buy you as a slave and beat you? That's just disgusting." He runs a hand through her hair again._

_"Don't worry yourself about it." he says, kissing her forehead. "I'm sure someone will give the old man a taste of his own medicine."_

He puts his head in his hands and groans even more with dread. Nova takes yet another cautious step towards him, looking sympathetic.

"Oh, Gob.." she says. His head snaps up and he looks at her harshly.

"Oh, yeah, _now_ you're emotionally invested in me," he growls. "Too little too late, Nova. Anyway, can't really dwell on it now. She's gone, right? She was leaving anyway." He gets up, hiding behind his emotional wall, planning on letting it down as soon as he's away from Nova. He stands up and walks around.

The place seems so empty, so quiet, and it's not just due to the lack of customers- knowing that Moriarty is gone, truly gone, simultaneously lifts a great weight from Gob's shoulders and places a new one. Nova, still looking more concerned then she should considering how she's treated him in the past, walks up behind him. "What're we going to do now that he's gone? I mean, we're _free_ now, but."

He looks around the pub, remembering the sight of Moriarty looming behind him over the counter, of customers berating him from the far tables- memories that won't be missed. He can't say he's _happy_ that Lil killed Moriarty, but it's more out of concern for her than out of care for Moriarty's death. He inhales deeply, swallowing the smell of stiff alcohol and day-old cigarette smoke.

"Well, first, I'm going to get me a bucket of paint," he says. "And then we're going to get this place up and running again."

* * *

A few weeks of hard work see Gob's Saloon just as booming and excited as Moriarty's Saloon. Business had been slow at first because of the general dislike for Gob, but once people realized they'd never really liked Moriarty either, they start to flood back. And besides, Gob's been serving them for as long as most of them can remember, so it's not like anything's _too_ different- and the drinks are cheaper, too. Everyone- well, everyone except for Nova- expects Gob to be happy, free and running his own bar.

He really, really isn't,

He finds that day like most others- long and boring, spent standing behind the bar exactly like he did _before_ he took over the place. Lucas Simms, Lucy West, Jericho, Billy Creel and a few of the town's settler's whose names he's not familiar with are milling about, not much to do otherwise in this dump- Moriarty's has one of the only working radios in town, too.

Nova comes up to the bar, leaning over it, still looking as sleazy as ever; she's renounced her title as 'entertainer' of Megaton and has instead resigned to work as the room manager of the pub, but she still has her old wardrobe.

"Whadd'ya need?" he asks. She shrugs.

"Business is slow on both of our ends," she replies. "I felt like having a nice friendly conversation." He sneers at her.

"Then go talk to Lucy or something," he suggests. He doesn't mind Nova, not really, but he likes to remind her that they've hardly been _friends_ over the years, she's just been _slightly_ less nasty to him than the rest.

He misses Lil.

He understands why she had to leave, of course- aside from the fact that she was chased out over Moriarty's death, she's looking for her father. He can hardly expect that she's going to just randomly reappear in his life.

Except, being Lil, that's exactly what she does.

The door to the bar swings open and he looks up, expecting another bored and dismal customer to come slogging in. Instead he sees a familiar girl, dressed in different armor but otherwise looking just as she did when she left, with shaggy red hair cut in a weird but fitting style and vibrant green eyes and a white, toothy smile.

"Lil.." he gasps. She smiles at him, _specifically_ at him; he knows because there's no one else in this room that she would smile at like that. Lucas Simms turns around and glowers at her, and her smile fades.

"You've got a lot of nerve, coming back here.." he growls. Gob throws his cleaning rag at him as he walks around the counter and it lands on his shoulder.

"This is _my_ bar," he says simply. "You can arrest her if you want but you won't be welcome back in here if you do. Besides, she doesn't look like she's ready to go without a fight." Gob moves towards the door as Lil moves further into the room, and Lucas Simms, who never much cared for Moriarty anyway, decides he'd rather have access to Gob's Saloon than bring her to justice. Nova looks at both parties harshly while the others react differently; some, like Simms and Jericho, simply ignore the situations. Others, like Lucy and Billy, seem to be intrigued. Neither Gob nor Lil seem to notice their attentions.

"Well, aren't _you_ my big bad protector," she says, reaching out and taking one of his hands. He squeezes hers. "You've done well while I've been gone. Love the new sign. Wadsworth said you haven't been home, though." Gob raises a brow.

"I wasn't aware I had the invitation to _live_ there." he says. Lil smiles at him, leans up and kisses him. Lucy and Billy both give a little 'ooh'- Nova scoffs.

He couldn't ask for more, really. He has his freedom, his bar and now his love.


End file.
